The restroom issue also arose in a massive class-action lawsuit against Wal-Mart and Sam's Club. In a 2008 ruling Dakota County Judge Robert King found that from 1998 to 2004, there were 1.5 million missed and shorted rest breaks. He mentioned the case of Nancy Braun, a Wal-Mart employee, who suffered "the humiliating experience of soiling herself while at work because she was not permitted to use the restroom."

Dear Lord, my employer says I'm to clock out if I want to use the bathroom outside of my scheduled breaks. The farked up thing is that my breaks change daily. In my call center they use Vernit and sometimes I have three hours between breaks. Not good when my diabetes medicine gives me unexpected tummy problems. It's been an issue as I've been taking 'excessive breaks' they say. I don't understand, they're mad I'm clocking out to shiat, aren't they happy to not be paying me?

FTA: "I knew I couldn't hold it any longer," the Cold Spring, Minn., woman said last week. "I would have wet my pants and I would never live it down."

FTA:Prince says because of past surgeries, her small and large intestines are smaller than normal, requiring her to use the restroom more frequently. The company said she never supplied medical documentation.

I am not a doctor, but as I understand it, reduced intestinal capacity is not a cause of frequent urination.

cheap_thoughts:Dear Lord, my employer says I'm to clock out if I want to use the bathroom outside of my scheduled breaks. The farked up thing is that my breaks change daily. In my call center they use Vernit and sometimes I have three hours between breaks. Not good when my diabetes medicine gives me unexpected tummy problems. It's been an issue as I've been taking 'excessive breaks' they say. I don't understand, they're mad I'm clocking out to shiat, aren't they happy to not be paying me?

You were farking with their projected service level. Call centers have every minute of the day for each employee accounted for and if you aren't on the phones when you are supposed to be you fark up their projections and projected service level. That is one of the reasons why call centers are so strict and shiatty places to work. But that being said I have worked in 3, and only one of them would they get strict on bathroom breaks like this. Most people understand when you have to go, you have to go.

Electrolux says in legal documents that it complied with the statute by providing a half-hour lunch break and two 10-minute breaks for every four hours for restroom use, which is in its collective bargaining agreement with the union, the International Association of Machinists (IAM).

Well damn, that explains why all the products I see with the Union Label on them look so yellowy. All along I thought it was because they were made in China. Now I know.

FTA: "I knew I couldn't hold it any longer," the Cold Spring, Minn., woman said last week. "I would have wet my pants and I would never live it down."

FTA: Prince says because of past surgeries, her small and large intestines are smaller than normal, requiring her to use the restroom more frequently. The company said she never supplied medical documentation.

I am not a doctor, but as I understand it, reduced intestinal capacity is not a cause of frequent urination.

Could be medicine or you know having a shorter intestine means you poop more. Also, some people with shortened intestines have to consume more food than average to keep their absorbed calories normal. More food means more poop.

FTA: "I knew I couldn't hold it any longer," the Cold Spring, Minn., woman said last week. "I would have wet my pants and I would never live it down."

FTA: Prince says because of past surgeries, her small and large intestines are smaller than normal, requiring her to use the restroom more frequently. The company said she never supplied medical documentation.

I am not a doctor, but as I understand it, reduced intestinal capacity is not a cause of frequent urination.

Could be medicine or you know having a shorter intestine means you poop more. Also, some people with shortened intestines have to consume more food than average to keep their absorbed calories normal. More food means more poop.

FTA: "I knew I couldn't hold it any longer," the Cold Spring, Minn., woman said last week. "I would have wet my pants and I would never live it down."

FTA: Prince says because of past surgeries, her small and large intestines are smaller than normal, requiring her to use the restroom more frequently. The company said she never supplied medical documentation.

I am not a doctor, but as I understand it, reduced intestinal capacity is not a cause of frequent urination.

Could be medicine or you know having a shorter intestine means you poop more. Also, some people with shortened intestines have to consume more food than average to keep their absorbed calories normal. More food means more poop.

There was a supervisor at my job that had a good lunch/bathroom scam. He would leave for lunch, without clocking out and run errrands pick up his lunch etc. Then he would come back, clock out and eat. After he took his hour lunch he would clock back in and go to the bathroom for an hour. It was funny they never found out what he did but they finally realized he was a supervisor and not doing any work, so they started giving him work and thats when he quit.

MBrady:adamatari: Let me say this - if I ever thought I was going to piss myself, I would go to the bathroom and they can kiss my ass. I would rather face homelessness than work for someone who treated me that badly.

Seriously, there are limits. Don't we have some farking dignity, people?

/no, I know we don't//because dignity don't pay rent///this is the ultimate logic of capitalism

I would have pissed on the supervisor's or the boss's desk.

Supervisor: We need you on the floor for. . .hey. . .what. . .what the hell are you doing?

Employee (whipping it out): I apologize. I told *aa* you I have to go *aaahh* and I am not going to piss on myself. *much better*

mrswood:it's called a bio break and if you have ever worked in a call center you would know sometimes people piss their pants.

rules yo.

I worked in several and I've never heard of an employee being so scared of going to the bathroom that they'd rather piss them self then tangle with a team lead over it. I've heard of shiatty micromanagement that harp down the employees but that is straight up ridiculous (and illegal).

It really speaks volumes about how little company owners care about the people who make them rich when they enforce restrictions on how much we can pee, and then defend themselves for it if anyone criticizes them. I sometimes wonder what these people are actually learning in their expensive, prestigious management courses in university. It seems like basic wisdom that a happy workforce is more productive than one that's dancing around holding in its pee or one that is miserable. Morale is the single most important key to productivity, yet managers and executives are consistent in their blind ignorance of this fact. I know that I will give ten times the effort for a boss that I admire and respect than I will for someone who treats me like a resource and acts like a jackass.

I also don't get companies that boast about their professionalism and great public image, but who then have offices that haven't seen a fresh coat of paint or replacement chairs since 1992. Ugly, uncomfortable furnishings and decorations do not inspire customers, visitors or staff, yet few companies are ever willing to shell out a few thousand bucks to clean up the mess that is their own facility. Pathetic.

BumpInTheNight:mrswood: it's called a bio break and if you have ever worked in a call center you would know sometimes people piss their pants.

rules yo.

I worked in several and I've never heard of an employee being so scared of going to the bathroom that they'd rather piss them self then tangle with a team lead over it. I've heard of shiatty micromanagement that harp down the employees but that is straight up ridiculous (and illegal).

Pattuq:It really speaks volumes about how little company owners care about the people who make them rich when they enforce restrictions on how much we can pee, and then defend themselves for it if anyone criticizes them. I sometimes wonder what these people are actually learning in their expensive, prestigious management courses in university. It seems like basic wisdom that a happy workforce is more productive than one that's dancing around holding in its pee or one that is miserable. Morale is the single most important key to productivity, yet managers and executives are consistent in their blind ignorance of this fact. I know that I will give ten times the effort for a boss that I admire and respect than I will for someone who treats me like a resource and acts like a jackass.

I also don't get companies that boast about their professionalism and great public image, but who then have offices that haven't seen a fresh coat of paint or replacement chairs since 1992. Ugly, uncomfortable furnishings and decorations do not inspire customers, visitors or staff, yet few companies are ever willing to shell out a few thousand bucks to clean up the mess that is their own facility. Pathetic.

I used to work for a company like that. They did fundraising management for various fraternal organizations and non profits, along with programs for several well known publications. This place was profitable, pulling in millions in profit every year. But the place looked like shiat. The front parking lot where the VIPs parked was a pot holed mess. This lot had the owners cars along with all of the section managers cars. Audis, Mercedes, BMWs and the owners Aston Martin filled the crumbling spaces. One morning I see the facilities manager tamping down another bag of cold patch in the latest pothole and I asked why he didn't just get the whole thing repaved since it looked like shiat. He said it was because the owner didn't want it to look like we we're wasting the clients money.

How about the off chance that this woman is a problem employee who abuses the system? I've worked in several places where there were employees who always complained about the management and how mean they were and how their rights were always trampled on. Almost to a person, these were terrible employees who did very little work. They spent most of their day complaining about how awful it was to work at these various places and cooking up various schemes to get out of work.

I know that may not be the case here. Her company could just be filled with managers who are horrible douchebags, but there is the possibility she could be the problem.

DanInKansas:Appliance repair guy here. Let's just say I'm not surprised Electrolux has crap rules because they sure have crap products.

If you buy anything from Samsung or the Frigidaire/Electrolux family, you are a sucker who deserves the ensuing hassles you're inevitably going to get.

CSB time:

My parents swear by Electrolux, and have used their vacuums for 45+ years now. (They're only on their second.)

There are two Electroluxes. The ones made in the USA are merely branded Electrolux, after the American plants were bought out by Eureka. The earlier ones, of the original European design and construction, are now repaired and sold under the brand Aerus in the US.

Big_Doofus:I know this is Fark, so this won't go over well...but here goes.

How about the off chance that this woman is a problem employee who abuses the system? I've worked in several places where there were employees who always complained about the management and how mean they were and how their rights were always trampled on. Almost to a person, these were terrible employees who did very little work. They spent most of their day complaining about how awful it was to work at these various places and cooking up various schemes to get out of work.

I know that may not be the case here. Her company could just be filled with managers who are horrible douchebags, but there is the possibility she could be the problem.

The "problem" with that is these companies consider anyone who uses the bathrooms more than once a day is a "problem employee". My mother worked for a major (then and now) insurance company for several years and this sort of thing was normal practice.

Any time, even a few seconds between calls or that minute one would take to refill a water bottle is considered wasted time, and these companies aren't paying people to do anything but produce profit at a calculated rate per employee per hour. Any deviation from that wrecks their projections. Those projections are calculated by people who have never actually had to do the work.

It's like the machine shops I've spent my entire adult life working in. There's twelve machinists on the floor, no overtime is permitted, and the salesman promises the customers the moon, stars and everything under the sun to land the contract, and then it's up to the machinists to make those numbers happen, even if it means occasionally crashing a $350,000 machine or trying to force cutters through material at a rate they cannot sustain for more than a few uses. One guy calls in because his kid had an emergency appendectomy at 1 AM and that totally farks those numbers up. That is always, without exception, the fault of the guys on the floor. I have never once seen a sales manager be called on the carpet for overselling a company's ability to fulfill a contract.

The guys who handle the bids make huge assumptions about how shiat works, and not a single one of them has actually ever touched a machine tool in their lives except a few times in high school or college. Their numbers are virtually never coincidental with reality. But it's always, without exception, the machinists fault that that endmill snapped, or the control decided to have a major stroke and run the cutter into the top of the vice at 1200 inches a minute, or the material comes in three days later than expected.

BumpInTheNight:mrswood: it's called a bio break and if you have ever worked in a call center you would know sometimes people piss their pants.

rules yo.

I worked in several and I've never heard of an employee being so scared of going to the bathroom that they'd rather piss them self then tangle with a team lead over it. I've heard of shiatty micromanagement that harp down the employees but that is straight up ridiculous (and illegal).

Years ago, I had a senior team member give me his version of a stern lecture when he told me I was "...just going to have to miss lunch as the needs of the project are more important." I looked him dead in the eye and said, "I had to skip meals too many times when I was in the military due to operational commitments. No way in hell is anything we do a matter of life and death, and I promised myself when I got out of the military I would never, EVER, miss a meal when I'm hungry. See you after lunch."

Big_Doofus:I know this is Fark, so this won't go over well...but here goes.

How about the off chance that this woman is a problem employee who abuses the system? I've worked in several places where there were employees who always complained about the management and how mean they were and how their rights were always trampled on. Almost to a person, these were terrible employees who did very little work. They spent most of their day complaining about how awful it was to work at these various places and cooking up various schemes to get out of work.

I know that may not be the case here. Her company could just be filled with managers who are horrible douchebags, but there is the possibility she could be the problem.

I can agree there is a chance its both sides at fault here. i mentioned up thread that I'd worked in several call centers and I witnessed first hand all the little tricks some people would use to get off the phones more then they ought to, myself included during a very short-lived stint doing cold-calls for a survey company. I think we can all agree that these work environments are toxic and both side's actions are a reaction to that toxicity.

Farking low-skill jobs, we need some way to pawn them off to some other part of the world.

adamatari:Let me say this - if I ever thought I was going to piss myself, I would go to the bathroom and they can kiss my ass. I would rather face homelessness than work for someone who treated me that badly.

Seriously, there are limits. Don't we have some farking dignity, people?

/no, I know we don't//because dignity don't pay rent///this is the ultimate logic of capitalism

Well, kind of the ultimate logic of capitalism.

But it's really authoritarianism, which is the result of pushing any philosophy to the limit.

Big_Doofus:I know this is Fark, so this won't go over well...but here goes.

How about the off chance that this woman is a problem employee who abuses the system? I've worked in several places where there were employees who always complained about the management and how mean they were and how their rights were always trampled on. Almost to a person, these were terrible employees who did very little work. They spent most of their day complaining about how awful it was to work at these various places and cooking up various schemes to get out of work.

I know that may not be the case here. Her company could just be filled with managers who are horrible douchebags, but there is the possibility she could be the problem.

In which case, the management should engage with the employee; first, in an informal manner. If that doesn't work, follow the disciplinary procedure.

I know there are all sorts of farked up labour laws in the US, right to work states and what have you, but where I am, the official procedure, pretty much, is:

1. Verbal warning.2. First written warning.3. Final written warning.4.

All steps witnessed and documented, and signed off by management and the employee, with union representation for the employee if requested.

But, hey, what do I know. I live in a country where unions exist that prevent management from treating people like cattle.

Having spent the last ten years working in and for call centers, Every one has time built in in addition to breaks. Yes, if you take an unscheduled stop it messes with service levels, and your personal stats, but they always have some variance built in. In my experience, to maintain 95% adherence to schedule over the course of an 8 hour day, it just means you have to take your breaks and lunches when they're scheduled. You have about 20 minutes of play in the schedule, and even then it's generally averaged over a month.

SpdrJay:Welcome, humans! I am ready for you! Fish, plankton, sea greens and protein from the sea. Fresh as harvest day.

Big_Doofus:I know this is Fark, so this won't go over well...but here goes.

How about the off chance that this woman is a problem employee who abuses the system? I've worked in several places where there were employees who always complained about the management and how mean they were and how their rights were always trampled on. Almost to a person, these were terrible employees who did very little work. They spent most of their day complaining about how awful it was to work at these various places and cooking up various schemes to get out of work.

I know that may not be the case here. Her company could just be filled with managers who are horrible douchebags, but there is the possibility she could be the problem.

Not a chance in hell she's the problem.

You see, it doesn't matter if your employee has to piss 30 times a day, you DO NOT interfere with that. There is no such thing as "abusing the system" when it comes to having to go to the bathroom. You do not question it, and you do not take any negative action toward the employee for it under any circumstances. Taking a piss in peace is one of the few bits of human dignity you do not even think about taking away.

If there's a problem with an employee's work, you deal with that. If you think an employee pees too much, you STFU and GTFO. And if you actually go so far as to have an employee wet themselves, you DIAF.

Ehcks:The hell? I thought my job was bad, but I can go to the bathroom whenever I want. What kind of horrible person limits that?

This person was on an assembly line. When one person stops working, everybody stops working. She is part of a union and has, through her representation, agreed to a specific set of times with management on when she can go take a piss. If they did not come to an agreement and you had 20 people on the line and if each person took a six minute piss break one after the other, that's 120 minutes of downtime times 20 people or 40 man hours. That being said, I worked in a union shop at GM for 11 years. Every assembly line will have somebody that is roaming around doing things like setup, supplying parts, etc. They would take the place of somebody who had to go piss unexpectedly outside the agreed upon times. This woman apparently has some kind of condition that makes difficult for her to fulfill her contractual obligations. She should find a way to manage it such as transfer to a different position, adult diapers, or be nicer to her coworkers so they WOULD relieve her to go piss.

I worked for Manpower temps in factories when I was a kid. Every job had some unfair practices, and I would point out every one to the management of the plant. I didn't work anywhere for more than a week, but I wasn't looking for a career as a cog. I had a good time and pissed off a lot of little tyrants. Good times.

cheap_thoughts:Dear Lord, my employer says I'm to clock out if I want to use the bathroom outside of my scheduled breaks. The farked up thing is that my breaks change daily. In my call center they use Vernit and sometimes I have three hours between breaks. Not good when my diabetes medicine gives me unexpected tummy problems. It's been an issue as I've been taking 'excessive breaks' they say. I don't understand, they're mad I'm clocking out to shiat, aren't they happy to not be paying me?

I know somebody who was under doctor's order to drink a LOT of fluids. Even with the medical reason, he got fired from his call center job because he was taking "excessive breaks."